MOTHER PANIC: GOTHAM A.D. #6 brings resolution to the pain and restlessness of Violet Page. The ending seems to giver her a chance at happiness with a makeshift family, along with a renewed purpose. The plot will satisfy every open question, the art is stunning, and the characters will warm your heart. Saying goodbye isn't so hard with an ending like this.

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Finally Happy

It’s always hard to say goodbye to a character we hold dear. Yet I had to do just that while reading MOTHER PANIC: GOTHAM A.D. #6. For me, Violet Page (AKA Mother Panic) is the kind of character you only find a few times in your life. She feels extremely real to me. I identify with some parts of her personality and I see my friends and loved ones in others. She’s imperfect, she’s angry and hurt, she’s a survivor, and she has a dark sense of humor that can make me laugh in the strangest situations.

Yet, in the end, I have to be happy for her. Because it looks like she finally found some semblance of peace in MOTHER PANIC: GOTHAM A.D. #6.

Warning, potential spoilers are below!

MOTHER PANIC: GOTHAM A.D. #6 Packs a Punch

Jason Todd is a damn maniac in this version of Gotham. No, this isn’t the Gotham we’re used to. As we’ve seen in issues #1 through #5 of this series, Batman is dead and Jason Todd’s gang has taken over the city. Since Violet and her young companion, Rosie (aka Fennec Fox), found themselves here after the events of MILK WARS, they’ve been dealing with his nonsense. Todd killed every previous Robin and even the Joker, and mounted them on a wall like treasured trophy bucks.

In MOTHER PANIC: GOTHAM A.D. #6, Violet is in the middle of a fight with Todd when Rosie walks in on them. This infuriates Todd. Seeing the stark resemblance between these two caped crusaders and the original dynamic duo, he calls them both a “fraud.” He especially notices the similarities between Rosie and the past Robins — she’s headstrong and seems to know no fear.

At the peak of the battle, Violet’s mother walks in. This is not Violet’s actual mother, but the version of her that lives in this Gotham. Even so, they’ve developed a deep bond throughout this series.

Violet allows her mother to speak to Todd, trusting that she knows what he needs, which pays off. Todd is brought to his knees, allowing Violet’s mother to fill the void Bruce Wayne left when he died.

Emptying the Tank

Mother Panic goes off to solve another problem. Her brother has been keeping the version of Violet from this reality in a suspension tank identical to the one Mr. Freeze used to keep his wife alive. Our Violet finally tracks down the tank and the people working on it, including Freeze himself. Freeze tells Violet that her brother has no intention of reviving his sister. He’s just using her for experimental data, keeping her in limbo.

They both agree that this won’t do, and Violet breaks the tank open, allowing this version of herself to pass away as peacefully as possible.

Just then, her brother enters the room. In a final act of revenge — one which everyone in the room seems to be perfectly fine with — Violet puts her brother in the suspension tank.

This begins a new life for Violet. Even Todd joins her makeshift family, taking Rosie under his wing. It seems to be a happy rebirth for all of them — something Violet sorely needed.

At the very end of MOTHER PANIC: GOTHAM A.D. #6, she lights a billboard on fire, sending a clear message to Gotham. Mother Panic is here: “They know I’m coming for them,” she says. “So, no need to be quiet. We’ll do this my way. Fast, loud, hard. And it’s gonna fucking hurt.”

Images Worth 10,000 Words

Writer Jody Houser is truly a master. Her arc for these characters, from MOTHER PANIC #1 to MOTHER PANIC: GOTHAM A.D. #6, has been incredible. They’ve all seen so much growth and have really come into their own. I feel like I could tell you what Rosie ate for breakfast in any given issue.

Her dialogue and narration are also always on point. As you can see from the quote above, she simply has a way with words. Yet she also knows when to hold back and let the artists take over — when to show and not tell.

The art team of Ibrahim Moustafa (interiors), Jordan Boyd (colors), and John Workman (letters) have always been stellar. They bring some beautiful images to the table in MOTHER PANIC: GOTHAM A.D. #6.

One of the most striking pages I have seen this year depicts all of the dead Robins that Jason Todd has killed delivering Rosie’s dialogue to him. This is a haunting image in and of itself, but it also tells the reader very clearly that Todd sees the Robins in Rosie without anyone having to say it.

Similarly, Violet burning the Mother Panic symbol into the Gotham billboard says everything we need to know about her intentions. We don’t need her to have a discussion about what she’ll do with her time in Gotham. We don’t need her to declare that she’s filling the empty position of Gotham’s vigilante. One image, one action, says it all.

Happy Together

One last image that makes a huge impact in MOTHER PANIC: GOTHAM A.D. #6 is all of the characters — including Jason Todd — at the dinner table together. This one panel told me that Violet finally has a family, and that makes me so utterly happy.

Violet has been fighting since the moment we met her back in MOTHER PANIC #1. She didn’t have a great relationship with her mother. She was kind of redundant as a vigilante in Gotham since the Bat-Family was everywhere. Meanwhile, her past at Gather House always haunted her.

Yet now she has a place to heal from her trauma. She’s built a relationship with her mother and found a purpose in a new Gotham. She even has a ward of sorts in Rosie. Violet has finally let people in and has begun to see that her story can be a happy one, even if there are dark parts in her past.

This is a very important message to send. In a world filled with evil and pain, it’s important to know that joy exists here, too. Even if you have to fight for it, everyone deserves to find happiness and a place where they belong.